Last sSaturday night, out of the blues, my wife told me that she wants to Gurney Plaza Shopping Mall. She has never mentioned to me before that evening. I cancelled my dinner arrangement with my sister and off, we go the Mall. It was already 7.30 pm and we went around shopping for a while before we had dinner. After dinner , it was already 9 pm and on the way out of the restaurant, she told me that she wants to go to Parkson. Then, we went into Parkson and we wonder around before she bought a belt. While I was waiting there, I saw a familiar face walking towards me. My friend, SB was standing in front of me. She told me that she has thought of me on that morning. Ow, it is a strange chance.
It is very normal for us to see our old friends in the Mall or on the street or in restaurants. Our destiny with them often criss cross and it is fate that plan the meeting. SB, have migrated to Australia with her family for more then half a year and before she migrated, she often called me to titillate. Last Chinese New Year Dinner, I was sitting next to her husband in the same table while enjoying the dinner at the invitation of our banker. He told me that he is migrating there in a month. I asked SB why is she back in Penang and she told me that her mother was not well. On that day, she was out shopping. The chance of meeting her is out of the world and I believe this is pre-destined.
Today, I met another old friend as I was going to buy some herbal tea. He was standing in front of the shop while I was busy talking to my daughter as we were walking. He kept his silence when he saw me in the distance and he only greet me when I was standing in front of her. My daughter, May have actually asked me to go to One-stop mall before going to that herbal shop but I change the plan while I was driving there. All these last minute changes and chance meeting with my friends really refreshes me on fate and destiny. Like I say before in my previous article, all of us have all the choice in life and when we make a choice, it is a step in our journey. We are responsible for the path we choose. Just like these two chance meetings, it is the timing and the choice , I choose before our path is crossed.
Life is a journey , not a destination. This is my belief. It is the process and not the end that is important. Wherever we are going, we should enjoy each step and appreciate the people we meet in the journey. We can meet them one time, two times or many times and each time could be the last. We should treat it as the last to appreciate their presence.
To all folks. Treasure and enjoy each steps in your journey and appreciate the people close to you. Like the Chinese saying goes " We meet in this life but not in the next" . Even if we do meet in the next life, we are different people and in different time and in different situation.
Namaste.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
I love the way you lie and the way it hurts.
Rediculous. But romantic? What is wrong with the generation today ? What happen to the girls ? How can you accept a lie and then enjoy the hurt. Love is sincere and truthful. If we lie, it is not fair to our partner and if they lie, it will untolerable. Don't be so silly to accept a lie and pretend to be loving. It is sadistic to enjoy the hurt. We have to stand up to this bad behaviour because everything starts from a small lie. There is not "buts" , when there is a lie, it should be admitted and if it is true, our partner should apologize and promise not to do it. It is not a sacrifice or romantic pretending you like the lie as well as the hurt. Strange emotions.
Yes, I heard the song and I could not believe the lyrics. I have heard the song again to -night and I got the feeling to said out what I am thinking. I have been asking my daughter and her young friends how they feel about the song. I am shock because everyone of them like the song and think it is romantic. Well, it is known to the boys that girls like crying and been sad. This is their nature. OMG. Sometimes, we abuse others and sometime others abuse us. A lie is a form of abuse. It is an abuse of our trust. Hey, girls , please don't get it wrong. Honesty is the best policy. We have to be transparent and enjoy a pure love without lies. Don't make the sacrifice and pretend to love it.
When it comes to white lies, it is subjective . A lie which do not hurt anybody when it is not said or said the way and with the intention to heal or make people happy.Such lies , although it do not meant to hurt , it is better not to say anything. The outcome is unpredictible and could alter the true situation of an event or happening. It could roll forward into the future and end hurting people in the future.So , a lie is a lie , it should not be said at all even how white it could be.
In Buddhism, one of the eight fold path is right speech and right action. I have writen an article on this precepts. To have a pure heart, it starts with a pure mind , a right attitude with good intentions. From our right speech and actions, it will give us a strong foundation to build our character and it will influence
lour mind. Our mind in turns, influence our body and actions. Everything is well linked ie the mind influence the body and vice versa.
A healthy mind breeds a healthy body and a healthy body nourishes the mind. Both is very closely linked and connected. Your life is also depends on what you think.
Namaste.
Yes, I heard the song and I could not believe the lyrics. I have heard the song again to -night and I got the feeling to said out what I am thinking. I have been asking my daughter and her young friends how they feel about the song. I am shock because everyone of them like the song and think it is romantic. Well, it is known to the boys that girls like crying and been sad. This is their nature. OMG. Sometimes, we abuse others and sometime others abuse us. A lie is a form of abuse. It is an abuse of our trust. Hey, girls , please don't get it wrong. Honesty is the best policy. We have to be transparent and enjoy a pure love without lies. Don't make the sacrifice and pretend to love it.
When it comes to white lies, it is subjective . A lie which do not hurt anybody when it is not said or said the way and with the intention to heal or make people happy.Such lies , although it do not meant to hurt , it is better not to say anything. The outcome is unpredictible and could alter the true situation of an event or happening. It could roll forward into the future and end hurting people in the future.So , a lie is a lie , it should not be said at all even how white it could be.
In Buddhism, one of the eight fold path is right speech and right action. I have writen an article on this precepts. To have a pure heart, it starts with a pure mind , a right attitude with good intentions. From our right speech and actions, it will give us a strong foundation to build our character and it will influence
lour mind. Our mind in turns, influence our body and actions. Everything is well linked ie the mind influence the body and vice versa.
A healthy mind breeds a healthy body and a healthy body nourishes the mind. Both is very closely linked and connected. Your life is also depends on what you think.
Namaste.
A restless heart
For the whole morning, my heart have been restless after my daughter told me that she is staying over night with her friend. It has been my wife and my house rules that we will not allow her to break this rule. We objected to her request and this starts off a series of horse trading as she told us that we do not trust her. At over 18 years old, she already have her individual rights to decide for herself. Yes, she could be right but we still have the right to guide her as long as she is not financially independent. When the tussles gets ugly, we should keep our cool heart to negotiate and strike a compromise. A give and take approach should be adopted. Until a compromise is strike , all of us is stressed up and that is the reason for the restlessness.
In life and having a family, everyone have their own understanding , wisdom and experience. All of us see things differently or behave differently in the same situation. Human re-action is unpredictable and varied. If we keep our view strictly and remain stubborn in our approach or stand, the outcome will be a lot of hurts and anger. How to compromise before everyone feels that they have won or win some lost grounds and save their face ? This is a very delicate and difficult skill to get a win-win result to let all the parties walk away feeling that they have won. To achieve this result, everyone have to loosen up and prepare to see the views of the other party and it will take a lot of trust and honesty in the dealings. If this is a family matter, we have to emphasize the love and be patient to explain our stand . True love and care will make us more understanding and more compromising.
Well, whichever way the outcome, the show will need to go on and probably, after some hurts, it is important for us to forgive and move on. We should never hold up our feelings and repeat it in the future when the occasion occurs. Using the previous compromises for future negotiations or compromise is bad taste. Whatever is past , let it be in the past. It is unfair to use all the previous comprises to bargain or to enforced our stand.
It is easy to say but doing it takes a lot of courage and discipline. But , most importantly, use love and loving kindness and compassion to see , to understand and to let go to compromise.
Om Shanti.
In life and having a family, everyone have their own understanding , wisdom and experience. All of us see things differently or behave differently in the same situation. Human re-action is unpredictable and varied. If we keep our view strictly and remain stubborn in our approach or stand, the outcome will be a lot of hurts and anger. How to compromise before everyone feels that they have won or win some lost grounds and save their face ? This is a very delicate and difficult skill to get a win-win result to let all the parties walk away feeling that they have won. To achieve this result, everyone have to loosen up and prepare to see the views of the other party and it will take a lot of trust and honesty in the dealings. If this is a family matter, we have to emphasize the love and be patient to explain our stand . True love and care will make us more understanding and more compromising.
Well, whichever way the outcome, the show will need to go on and probably, after some hurts, it is important for us to forgive and move on. We should never hold up our feelings and repeat it in the future when the occasion occurs. Using the previous compromises for future negotiations or compromise is bad taste. Whatever is past , let it be in the past. It is unfair to use all the previous comprises to bargain or to enforced our stand.
It is easy to say but doing it takes a lot of courage and discipline. But , most importantly, use love and loving kindness and compassion to see , to understand and to let go to compromise.
Om Shanti.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Famous quotes of Sai Baba
Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it.
Sai Baba
Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world.
Sai Baba
Sai Baba
Do not be misled by what you see around you, or be influenced by what you see. You live in a world which is a playground of illusion, full of false paths, false values and false ideals. But you are not part of that world.
Sai Baba
Remember, God is your guardian, when you sleep; when you are helpless; even when you have forgotten or neglected or discarded Him. He has no need you offer or promise to offer. He is ever content, ever blissful, ever full and ever free. Do your duty to yourself - that is enough offering for Him.
A saint in Sai Baba
The name of Sai Baba have been known for a long time. I visited his temple in Bangalore, India about five years ago. I was in India on business and when I touch down in Bangalore, there was a perfect weather. The place is famous for its cool temperature and is known as the air-condition city of the world. I stay at a city hotel and after finishing the business for the day and yet , I have about three hours of idle time and I booked a taxi to visit the famous IT park which housed Infosys . The park was huge and the building was very modern but surrounded by cluster of huts and old houses. After visiting the park, the taxi driver asked me whether I want to visit the ashram of Sai Baba which was one hour away from the IT park. I did not hesitate and asked the taxi driver to drive on.
The journey on the dusty road was full of traffic jam and the road was narrow and uneven. Both sides of the road is full of old houses , huts , sheds and illegal extensions. After an hour of monotonous sights, I reach a market place which surround the temple. I went down from the taxi and walk towards the entrance of the temple. It was huge and surrounded by a high wall. There were so many hawkers lining the entrance of the temple. The first thing I saw was a huge prayer hall. It was about the size of one football field and surrounding it was a few buildings. It was already 4pm and I tried to moved around the building and try to catch a glimpse of the famous Guru. He was not in the temple and it was not the prayer time yet.
I remember I have a class mate whom I bump in many years ago. He was a staunch believer of Sai Baba. One of the evening after I met him, he called me up and offered to show me the miracle of Sai Baba. He pick me up and sent me to his friend's house and show me the picture of Sai Baba with ashes oozing out from the picture. He told me that there are many such happenings and it is the manifestation of the Guru. There were many stories of him performing miracles and offer blessings to his followers. His students or followers include a former Prime Minister of India and high ranking government officers. My friend took me that he can turn a string into gold and he revived two dead men with his powers. He was like God to me but I just kept his image in one corner of my mind. I was never converted or connected with him although I have seen his image or photographs in some places.
Latest news, I read is that he is severely ill and have a pace maker installed to manage his irregular heart beat. He is only 85. For a Saint, it is too young. But, Buddha also die in his early 80's after falling sick. I expects Guru to live forever or if not a few hundred or thousand years. But, there are mortals as well. One question, I have in mind is why those great minds or Gurus who possesses great wisdoms die so young. It seems that the more wisdom you have , the younger you will die. And since, they have great powers in reviving the deadl why can't they cure themselves and make them live forever. Why they die like mortals?
But, does wisdom and live longer have any connections ? Logically, it should be. If you are wise, you understand life and always live in meditative stage. With wisdom, you will know how to preserve your mind and your health and this will make you live longer.This is one side of the story. Another story would be that since you know life is impermance and meaningless , you will indulge in your own extremes to live your life wild and die young.Another option would be to follow the middle path and live a moderate life and die in between. There could be so many variations between the two extreme ends. The mid point between live too short and too long. Life is full of surprises and variations.
Here, I pray for the good recovery of Sai Baba. As he has blessed millions of people and now let this millions of people pray for him.
Namaste.
The journey on the dusty road was full of traffic jam and the road was narrow and uneven. Both sides of the road is full of old houses , huts , sheds and illegal extensions. After an hour of monotonous sights, I reach a market place which surround the temple. I went down from the taxi and walk towards the entrance of the temple. It was huge and surrounded by a high wall. There were so many hawkers lining the entrance of the temple. The first thing I saw was a huge prayer hall. It was about the size of one football field and surrounding it was a few buildings. It was already 4pm and I tried to moved around the building and try to catch a glimpse of the famous Guru. He was not in the temple and it was not the prayer time yet.
I remember I have a class mate whom I bump in many years ago. He was a staunch believer of Sai Baba. One of the evening after I met him, he called me up and offered to show me the miracle of Sai Baba. He pick me up and sent me to his friend's house and show me the picture of Sai Baba with ashes oozing out from the picture. He told me that there are many such happenings and it is the manifestation of the Guru. There were many stories of him performing miracles and offer blessings to his followers. His students or followers include a former Prime Minister of India and high ranking government officers. My friend took me that he can turn a string into gold and he revived two dead men with his powers. He was like God to me but I just kept his image in one corner of my mind. I was never converted or connected with him although I have seen his image or photographs in some places.
Latest news, I read is that he is severely ill and have a pace maker installed to manage his irregular heart beat. He is only 85. For a Saint, it is too young. But, Buddha also die in his early 80's after falling sick. I expects Guru to live forever or if not a few hundred or thousand years. But, there are mortals as well. One question, I have in mind is why those great minds or Gurus who possesses great wisdoms die so young. It seems that the more wisdom you have , the younger you will die. And since, they have great powers in reviving the deadl why can't they cure themselves and make them live forever. Why they die like mortals?
But, does wisdom and live longer have any connections ? Logically, it should be. If you are wise, you understand life and always live in meditative stage. With wisdom, you will know how to preserve your mind and your health and this will make you live longer.This is one side of the story. Another story would be that since you know life is impermance and meaningless , you will indulge in your own extremes to live your life wild and die young.Another option would be to follow the middle path and live a moderate life and die in between. There could be so many variations between the two extreme ends. The mid point between live too short and too long. Life is full of surprises and variations.
Here, I pray for the good recovery of Sai Baba. As he has blessed millions of people and now let this millions of people pray for him.
Namaste.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Bad parrot - a lesson to learn
A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity. John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else he could think of to 'clean up' the bird's vocabulary.
Finally, John was fed up and he yelled at the parrot. The parrot yelled back.
John shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even more rude.
John, in desperation, threw up his hand, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer. For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed. Then suddenly there was total quiet. Not a peep was heard
for over a minute.
Fearing that he'd hurt the parrot, John quickly opened the door to the freezer.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior."
John was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.
As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird spoke-up, very softly, "May I ask what the turkey did?"
A beautiful place called " Palash " Bangladesh
I was there in early December last year and the temperature there was about 12 degree C and I was travelling in a motorized boat up and down the river. The air was so fresh and cool and there was a light breeze blowing against my face. It was so fresh and relaxing. I was tired and yet was fully awake and enjoying the peace and tranquility of the place. Nothing fanciful and it was a simple place with factories some distance away but I could felt the peace and the joy coming with it. I was back there in March 2011.This time, it was abit hot but the tranquility and peace remains. Namaste.
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